water bottles Archives - The Philippine Beat

I need to drink a lot of water every day because of my previous bout with kidney stones. In addition, when I go to my yoga classes, I always want to bring a water bottle with me.

The problem with single-use PET bottles though is that it is both expensive in the long run and damaging to the earth as it contributes to the tons of PET bottles disposed into the earth’s landfills every day. I could always fill my water bottle before heading out but in order to get my 2-liter quota of water for the day, I would need to refill my bottle somewhere. Now how would I know if the source of my refilled water is potable enough?

Well, I recently got a Bobble water bottle to try out and based on first impressions, it looks like a healthy solution to my dilemma.

(taken from waterbobble.com)

Bobble is the creation of renowned industrial artist Karim Rashid – the man behind numerous luxury goods and popular product designs such as Christofle, Alessi, Umbra, Bonaldo, Vondom and Hugo Boss. It features a curvy form that makes it easy to grasp and carry around – perfect for workout sessions like my yoga classes or simply something to hold when outside the home. The plastic bottle is also BPA-free.

But the killer feature is its built-in filter. Its carbon filter is replaceable and recyclable, purifying potable water even further by eliminating chlorine and organic contaminants. There goes my worry about the cleanliness of other water sources once I drink up the water I brought from home. I can just refill the bottle and still be sure the filter eliminates anything in the water that can be harmful to the body. Caveat: Bobble should NOT be used with water that is microbiologically unsafe.)

My red Bobble!!!

The Bobble website explains how the filter (which is made in the USA) works:

bobble has an activated carbon filter which has a slight electro-positive charge, making it attractive to chemicals and impurities. As the water passes over the positively charged carbon surface, the negative ions of the contaminants are drawn to the surface of the carbon granules.

Carbon filters require very little maintenance, and are perhaps the most powerful chemical absorbents known to man. bobble’s carbon-based filter removes organic contaminants from regular municipal tap water and meets or exceeds NSF International Standard 42 for chlorine, taste and odor reduction.

The filters can be replaced every 2 months or about every 40 gallons of water without throwing the water bottle away.

Each Bobble water bottle is also equivalent to about 300 single-use plastic bottles. That is a lot of PET bottles we save from clogging up the landfills. You can do your part to protect Mother Earth while using Bobble water bottles.

Since its introduction in February 2010, Bobble has won many industry awards including a Green Good Design Award in 2010 and 2011. It’s now here in the Philippines and comes in 6 luscious colors: green, red, black, yellow, magenta and blue.

There are also 3 variants. The 1000-ml model retails at PhP 695; the 550-ml model goes for PhP 595; and the 375-ml one sells for PhP 495. Filters cost PhP 345 each.

Watch this short video.

Bobble Philippines
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/bobble.ph
Twitter: @bobblePH

My water bottles, kids’ snack boxes and kitchen containers are all Lock&Lock. Not since Tupperware invaded my home have I loved another brand this much. The design of the water bottles are perfect because the grooves allow me to grasp pitchers without it slipping, even with wet hands. The various containers don’t just lock down on 2 opposite sides but on all 4 sides, making it virtually airtight and spill-proof.

So when Michelle told me there was a Lock&Lock event, my initial reaction was “There is an outlet aside from the malls where I can buy them???” Happy, happy, joy, joy! There indeed was!

Why do I pay particular attention to the kind of plastics brands I use? Safety. We know that there are more expensive plastics versus much cheaper ones. The cheaper ones are fine for storing non-edible items. But when it comes to storing food, I am very particular. Certain plastics are likely to leak chemicals into food. Lock&Lock products are made of eco-friendly PP and are free of Bisphenol A (more commonly called BPA), an endocrine disruptor.

In September 2011, OKO-TEST, a German independent consumer goods rating agency established in 1985, conducted tests on 15 airtight containers manufactured in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, China and other countries. The containers were judged on the basis of:

* Safety of material
* Airtightness
* Durability
* Ease of opening and closing lid
* Microwavable safety and convenience
* Ability to store heated food
* State of container after taking food out
* Discoloration resistance
* Ease and convenience of washing

Lock&Lock was the only Korean brand included in this test AND it received the highest rating, particularly in safety, airtightness and durability where it garnered the highest rating. And only Lock&Lock and Tupperware received the highest OKO-TEST rating. That’s my seal of safety right there. And while I still love Tupperware, which dominated the kitchen brands in our home as I was growing up, Lock&Lock is so much more affordable while retaining the same quality and safety features I look for in plastic, airtight containers.

Lock&Lock’s flagship store is located in Araneta Avenue. It’s not a huge place but on both sides of the walls were floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with everything Lock&Lock.

Here are displays of their containers and water bottles. There are actually more varieties in this place than you would find inside any mall. I know now where to go if I can’t find what I’m looking for in the mall’s home section.

If you thought Lock&Lock was all about plastic containers, you are in for a surprise just like I was.

Surprise #1: GLASSWARE!

Lock&Lock products are NOT all made of plastic. They have glass containers and bottles as well!

Boroseal glassware combined with the popular Lock&Lock plastic covers

These Boroseal glassware lines are the perfect “Kitchen to Table” items. Boroseal is based on the borosilicate glass technology that addresses heat resistance so that they can be used with microwave ovens and withstand boiling water as well as open flame. Boroseal glass is found in laboratory equipment, proof of its being chemically stable and not posing any hazardous substance leak.

To illustrate the difference between the Boroseal glass and tempered glass usually found in Pyrex products, the Lock&Lock team showed us two samples of broken glass: one from common tempered glass, the other from Boroseal glass. Tempered glass apparently shatters into big and tiny pieces (we locally refer to as bubog) so it is harder to clean up; Boroseal glass, on the other hand, shatters into big pieces.

Tempered glass, when shattered, has small glass pieces

Boroseal glass shatters but stays in big pieces (easy to clean up)

Right there and then, I wanted to buy glass water bottles and containers, except that I had no car that day and was afraid the ride home might make me drop my heavy load and shatter them.

Surprise #2: COOKWARE!

Their COOKPLUS cookware comes in 3 different lines – with each line having different features so as to fit whatever the needs of a household would be:

COOKPLUS Vitamin Pans – a colorful array of frying pans, casseroles, woks and saucepans. This line focuses on three E’s: eco-friendly, economical and easy cooking.

COOKPLUS Ceramic-coated Pans – Unlike Teflon-coated pans which, over time, can peel and bring risks of health-hazardous chemicals leaking into food, ceramic coating does away with that worry. The ceramic coating is made of Ecolon, which is not harmful to environment or body because its main ingredients consist of dirt, sand and rocks.

Those circular bumps prevent food from burning,
distribute heat more evenly and even conserve use of cooking oil

White version of ceramic pan

COOKPLUS Premium Grade Cookware – These are 18-10 stainless steel cooking pans and pots graded as one of the highest in quality and made with a longer lifespan. Pouring rims, ergonomic handles and a triple coating bottom structure for thermal dispersion.

Surprise #3: STORAGE BOXES, BINS & BASKETS!

Good news for those who have lots of stackable storage bins like me. Lock&Lock has them in different, bright and vibrant colors. They have stackables with and without covers, laundry baskets, cosmetic cases, rack baskets, and many more. I got myself a red soft basket. Here it is together with my haul for the day.